AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori welcomes Paolo Maldini praise, addresses future ahead of Manchester United tie

The Chelsea loanee's impressive start at Milan means the Italian giants already want to sign him permanently

For a young defender newly arrived at AC Milan there can be few more welcome endorsements than that of the legendary Paolo Maldini.

It did not take long for Fikayo Tomori to earn exactly that. Just a month into the loan agreement with Chelsea, Maldini, technical director at Milan and one of the game's best ever defenders, was describing the 23-year-old as a "great talent" and one who his club would look to sign on a permanent basis.

"Obviously it's a good feeling, to hear something like this gives me confidence," Tomori told CBS Sports in his press conference ahead of AC Milan's Europa League clash with Manchester United. "I just want to carry on doing what I'm doing. That has got me to this stage and then [I want to] go even further.

"I'm not focused on what can happen in the future, it's more about me playing well for the team, doing what I can for myself and helping the team as much as possible. What happens in the future will happen.

"It's very nice to hear that from one of, if not the, greatest defender ever."

Tomori says he has not spoken to Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel about his progress but has heard positive reports from his teammates at Stamford Bridge.

"I've spoken to people, they're not only teammates but friends. We all check up on each other, see how we're doing. A lot of the time we're not talking about football, we're talking about general life, but the mood in the camp from what I understand is good.

"A lot of them are playing games, scoring goals and playing well. I'm sure it's all going well there. Personally, I haven't had anything from the manager himself but obviously he has got his own players there to worry about. You know it would be difficult for him to message me, it's nothing I'm worried about.

"I'm focused on what's happening here and I'm sure he's doing the same at Chelsea."

That focus is certainly paying off with Tomori quickly establishing himself as a key figure in a Milan side that have emerged as the closest rivals to crosstown rivals Inter for the Scudetto.

Since making his debut as a substitute in the Derby della Maddonina Tomori has featured in eight of Milan's 10 games, earning rave reviews for his performance in a 2-1 win over Roma where his diving block denied Lorenzo Pellegrini a last minute equalizer.

"It has been a different challenge for me coming to Italy but everyone has been a great help," said Tomori. "The one thing I was really worried about, that I knew I was going to have to adapt to, was the language. Since I've come here people have tried to speak English and I've been learning Italian, it has helped the transition a lot.

"Since I came here, every single person in and around Milanello has been a great help. I try to speak Italian but when I do people are speaking back to me in English. Those kind of things are helping me to integrate and when things like that happen and you feel comfortable you can play your best football.

"At the moment I'm happy and feel like I'm playing to a good level. I want to keep on improving and when I get the opportunities to play I'll give my best for the team.

"Life in Italy is a bit different to England. The weather is a lot nicer. The food is different… and nicer as well. Everything seems a lot calmer here. I'm very much enjoying it and I'm sure it will continue."

Milan travel to Old Trafford on Thursday night with a squad depleted by the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Theo Hernandez, Ismael Bennacer, Hakan Calhanoglu and Mario Mandzukic. Manchester United themselves are similarly light on key players with Marcus Rashford, David de Gea, Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek all unavailable.

Tomori said: "Everyone in the squad wants to play, this is a great chance for everyone to play. We have players missing but that's the point of the squad, everyone can come in and make the difference. We saw a little bit of that against Verona, hopefully tomorrow we can see the same thing again.

"When you play against the best teams that brings out the best in you. Hopefully we can put on a good performance."